JEDDAH, 27 September 2006 — Elections to the board of directors of the Madinah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) resumed last night after being halted in May by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry due to complaints of financial discrepancies in the chamber.
Two days before the elections, one of the strong groups contesting the elections officially withdrew from the ballots, adding to the tension and confusion.
The Al-Mustakbal (The Future) Group of businessmen announced its withdrawal in a press release, stating their objection to events that led to the “illegal” postponement of the elections and contributed to creating an environment of chaos.
The group members claimed that they were surprised by the indefinite postponement made without explanation or clarification, based on unverified complaints of internal administrative matters in the chamber that are unrelated to the board elections.
The group members criticized the ministry’s handling of the elections, the complaints and the decision to postpone and then hold the elections without prior notice to the nominees. Thus, under these circumstances the group does not consider the current environment an encouraging one for running for office or achieving their goals and aspirations for the chamber.
Accusations of embezzlement in the chamber surfaced before the elections were scheduled for May 13. This led the director of the ministry’s branch in Madinah, Khalid Gumgumji, to announce the postponement of the elections indefinitely until investigations into the allegations had been completed.
Arab News has learned that the Madinah municipality requested the postponement based on many complaints of embezzlement and forgery it had received from businessmen.
According to an official source, a committee investigated the allegations and found them to be true, implicating the individuals responsible for embezzling some SR630,000. The postponement of the elections was necessary because the financial discrepancies affected membership and the right to run and vote, according to the source.
The elections will continue tonight from 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Three groups have remained in the race with a total of 25 candidates out of 40. The only two women who nominated themselves, Dr. Wafa Tulba and Dr. Nihad Sunbul, withdrew a week before the initial date of elections for “personal reasons”.
